


A Long Time Coming

by Myrrach



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-14
Updated: 2016-04-14
Packaged: 2018-06-02 06:36:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6555067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myrrach/pseuds/Myrrach
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A retainer is supposed to be constantly thinking of their liege, but Effie was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to be in a romantic way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Long Time Coming

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This is my first (completed) fanfiction ever! I almost can't believe it.
> 
> Just before we begin I'd like to thank a very good friend for being so supportive and helpful throughout the whole writing process, you're the best!
> 
> Anyway, I hope you have as much fun reading it as I had writing it.

Effie had been feeling more and more distracted lately. Even during this intense a workout, she couldn’t stop thinking of Elise. This wasn’t inherently a bad thing. As Elise’s retainer, Effie was supposed to be thinking of her constantly, just… not in the way she was currently.

It had been back when they were kids, back when Elise would sneak down to the slums, disguised as a common flower girl, that Effie had realized she thought of her miniscule friend in a romantic way.

Effie heaved another boulder up onto her shoulder. Today’s workout was originally supposed to consist mostly of throwing boulders across the training yard, but she was nearly out of boulders, and Corrin had chastised her for nearly hitting her once, so she should probably move on to regular weights soon. But it she certainly couldn’t stop

‘Just gotta keep at it,’ Effie thought to herself. ‘Won’t get anything done if I start thinkin’ about her again, and then I’ll be worse than useless.’ Having a romantic relationship with her liege was out of the question, so she’d have to settle for keeping Elise as safe as she could, to protect the smile she cherished. Although it was not helping to see how much more… mature? (maybe?) the war seemed to be making Elise. She was still the cheery little sunbeam that she had always been, but she’d gotten this air about her. It was almost like she was more-

CRUNCH! The sound of rocks smashing together shocked Effie out of her reprieve. She had managed to throw the boulder far enough to hit – and subsequently break – the wall of the fort. She sighed. That was probably enough boulder-throwing for the time being. She’d have to get the wall repaired before someone showed up.

Effie grumbled, trying to clear her head. ‘This kinda crap is what got me here in the first place.’ She had been doing even more training lately to try to push the thoughts from her mind, but, due to her distraction, incidents like this were also happening more frequently. ‘I can’t be all wrapped up in thoughts of Elise in the middle of a war. She’ll get hurt if I’m not there 100%.’

She finished fixing the wall – she had gotten awfully good at it lately – and tried to get back to training. ‘C’mon Effie. You can’t let this get to you. You’ve held your feelings at bay this long, what’s the remainder of your lifetime? Nothing. Yeah. Nothing. You’ve got this. Elise’s beautiful eyes are not a distraction. Nope. No sir. Or her soft-looking skin. You’re not thinking about what if would feel like to-‘

“Efffiiieeee~” A singsong voice shocked her out of her thoughts, and after a somewhat embarrassing recovery, she mentally berated herself for being so easily distracted. Looking up, she saw the carefree diviner Orochi, of the Hoshidan army, standing incredibly close, with a huge grin plastered to her face.

“Muh?” Was all Effie managed.

Orochi laughed. “What’s on your mind? You were in a whole other world there! I doubt those poor dumbbells could have taken any more!”

Effie looked down at the dumbbells in her hands which now had notable indents where her fingers gripped them. “Oh. Oops.” She grunted. “Not another pair.”

“Do you do this often?” Orochi asked, eyebrows edging upwards.

“Yeah. From time to time.”

“Oh wow! You’re so strong~!”

“I know.” Effie said, wondering what exactly it was that Orochi was doing there.

“So what were you thinking about?” Orochi asked.

Effie wasn’t sure what the safe answer to that would be. “Uh, nothing much.”

For some reason that made Orochi smile even more. “My fortune said I would meet someone interesting if I came to the training grounds,” she explained. “To think even the straightforward Effie would have her secrets! Interesting indeed!”

Effie stayed silent, coming up with things to say to the energetic diviner was a real chore.

“Hmm.” Orochi gazed at her for a moment. “Oh! Does it have something to do with Elise! You’re such a devoted retainer!”

Effie felt her face redden and Orochi laughed. She looked like she was going to say something else, but then looked around and donned a more mischievous grin. “I’ve got to go now! Kagero’s watching me, and I want to lead her somewhere special. I’m glad we got to talk!”

Ororchi ran off, and Effie stared for a moment at the retreating form of the diviner, but then noticed out of the corner of her eye a shadow darting after her. That was probably Kagero. Orochi boggled her. For someone so seemingly carefree, she seemed to see the truth in people with ease, and many trusted her for her sage advice. What she saw in such a dark person as Kagero confused Effie to no end, and what someone like Kagero saw in the perpetually happy Orochi was even worse.

 

Elise was nearing the end of her rope as she pushed a trolley of food out to her friend. Effie had worked herself to exhaustion again, and it was getting hard to deal with.

Ever since that day at the castle, the day that Elise revealed her true identity, their relationship had changed. When Elise saw Effie again, fully clad in heavy armour, she had been overjoyed! Finally, they could be together again! Friends! Having a good time! It was an ingenious plan on Effie’s part. But it was all just so… different now.

Effie spent so much time training that they never got to spend time together anymore. It made her feel… bad, somehow. In a way she couldn’t quite identify. But she did know that her best friend had collapsed in the training ground again, probably having been there all day.

“Oh, hey Elise.” Effie smiled softly at her approach.

“Hi Effie!” Elise forced a smile. “Orochi said she predicted you’d pass out while training, and then Rinkah comes running over saying you’re lying on the ground out here!” She considered lecturing Effie, but that could wait until she was eating. “I brought you some dinner.”

Effie grinned. “Thanks a bunch, I’m starving.”

Elise looked on as Effie dug into the food, quite literally. She never was one for grace or poise. ‘Which is such a shame, she’s super cute.’ Elise thought.

Effie seemed to notice her pouting and looked up, swallowing a sizable chunk of food. “Hey, whatsa matter Lady Elise? You look grumpy.”

Elise began to actively pout this time. Since she had accepted Effie as her retainer, Effie had gotten into the habit of calling her “Lady Elise”. She hated it for some reason. But that wasn’t the issue right now. “It’s you, Effie! You collapsed. Again! I’m getting tired of it!”

Effie looked a little downtrodden, her adorable face cast downwards, and Elise had to steel herself for a moment before continuing, but Effie spoke first. “But, I need to train, or I’ll never get stronger. I gotta protect you, Elise.”

Elise sighed; wasn’t that always the way. “You’re plenty strong Effie.” She crouched down by her best friend and smiled as supportively as she could. “And I can protect myself now, too.” She pulled a tome out. “See? I’m a strategist now! I can fight too!”

Effie smiled at her, but didn’t look convinced. “I gotta keep working though. Our enemies keep getting’ stronger, and if I can’t keep up-”

“UGH!” Elise fumed. “You don’t get it! I’ve seen a boulder shot from a stoneborn hit you dead on and you didn’t even flinch! You’re more than strong enough! You’ve reached a point of… of… uh…” Elise tried to think back to Leo’s lessons. “dimishining returns! …I think.”

“But-” Effie started, but it was more than Elise could handle. This was not a new argument for them, and she didn’t want to have it again. She stormed off.

 

 

Effie sat in the mess hall, eating away. The cart of food Elise had brought had given her just enough energy to make it. She was lucky that Felicia wasn’t cooking, or she might have been toast.

She was halfway through her ham when Orochi sat down across from her, grinning as per usual. “I see that Elise heeded my warning!”

Effie nodded. “It wasn’t until Rinkah told her that she came though.”

Orochi laughed a little. “Oh, but you should have seen her bustle about that cart when I told her! She cares about you a great deal, I can tell.”

Heat rose to Effie’s cheeks and she tried to hide it behind the remainder of the ham, but that went poorly. She could see Orochi’s smile widen further. “Well that’s good to hear, I guess.” She managed.

“I talked to Kagero about you today! She said you were looking out of sorts lately, especially for one of Nohr’s best knights!” Orochi exclaimed.

Effie raised an eyebrow. “She’s been watching me?”

“Of course!” Orochi laughed heartily. “She’s a ninja in service of the Hoshidan Royal family! She’d naturally keep an eye on the retainers of the Nohrian nobility. Especially with that assassin Beruka about.” The diviner grimaced slightly before returning to her usual knowing grin.

Effie wasn’t sure why, but she was a little flattered to hear that she was being spied on in such a way. Maybe it made her feel like a more formidable force. She stared at Orochi for a while, the diviner looking back expectantly, almost as though she knew, and Effie finally decided that it might be nice to have some help in the Elise department. If Orochi was a reliable as everyone said she was, she could provide some much-needed assistance.

“Well, yeah, I’ve been distracted recently.” The knowing way Orochi smiled made Effie begin to question her decision. Buuut, it was too late now, she’d already started talking, so might as well continue. “I, well… I’ve gone and fallen for Elise, and I’m not sure what to do. You got a fortune for that sort of thing?”

Orochi’s mouth hung open in glee, and she clapped her hands in front of her chin. “How delightful! I knew that’s what was going on!”

“How?” Effie asked.

Orochi chuckled and leaned across the table to poke Effie on the nose. “Because, the fortunes you were asking about? I already did them.”

Effie felt oddly violated at that, but she had bigger thoughts right now. “And what did they say?”

Orochi laughed at that, as well, but it was a little softer this time, and her face became a little more serious. “Do you know why Hoshidan nobles have diviners?”

“To tell the future.” Effie stated.

Orochi nodded. “Popular diviners often tell only the good fortunes, but when something bad eventually happens, and they’ve chosen not to say anything about it, they aren’t so popular anymore. The less popular diviners, the ones who tell all the fortunes, good or bad, they stick around longer, but sacrifice a great deal. They are considered to be harbingers of bad tidings.” Orochi brightened up. “I might actually fall in the latter. But sometimes I’ve found that, good or bad, it’s best just to let things happen.” Still leaning across the table, she propped herself up with her elbows and grasped Effie’s hands in hers. “My advice to you is accept what comes. If it’s bad, do your best to stop it, but if it’s good, let it happen. Those who fight off happiness live the dullest of lives.”

And with a final chuckle, she left.

 

 

Camilla petted Elise’s curls as the miniscule girl sobbed into her big sister’s chest. Camilla was so much more mature, it wasn’t fair. Elise wanted out outgrow her “cries when frustrated” phase. She was an adult now! She was older than 20! But she didn’t seem to be getting any older. It made her mood even worse.

“There, there, darling.” Camilla cooed. COOED! Well, it was Camilla, she did that to everyone. It didn’t help Elise’s pride though.

Elise finally pulled out of the soft haven of Camilla’s chest – come to think of it, that may be a point of her maturity problem she’d need to address – and sighed.

“Come now sweetie, this isn’t like you.” Camilla’s voice was as cloying as ever, but her gaze betrayed a hint of genuine worry. “Tell your big sister what’s the matter.”

Elise nodded slightly. “I… uh… it’s Effie.”

Camilla cocked an eyebrow. “What about her?”

Elise took a deep breath. “It’s just… she’s always working herself so hard! It’s not like she’s accomplishing anything anymore, and she keeps hurting herself!” Elise paused, unsure of how to phrase what she was feeling. “It’s like… uh… whenever she’s away during dinner I just KNOW she’s at the training grounds, and she’s overexerted herself, and she’s sitting on the floor, and I have to bring her food but every time I do it just… it hurts a little.”

Camilla hugged her again, but more briefly this time. “Aw, honey. I know how it feels to see one of your cute retainers in a bad spot. It tears me up when my precious Selena and Beruka are in trouble, too!”

That was… very Camilla. Elise’s older sister loved to help people, to the point where it seemed like she took more care of her retainers than the other way around. But it wasn’t quite the sentiment Elise had been trying to get across. “I mean, I don’t like seeing her like that but…” Camilla looked dotingly at her for a while, but, at Elise’s extended silence, her expression turned more serious. Elise took another breath. “I can’t help but think about how she’d rather spend her time straining herself than spending time with me!” Camilla looked a bit surprised at that, but allowed Elise to continue. “It’s hard. Lately I’ve been feeling so weird around her. It feels so good to know she cares so much about me, but I want her to…” Wait. What DID she want from Effie?

Elise found herself blushing furiously by the end of her little tirade, and she was sure she must look quite foolish, but to her surprise, Camilla gave her a knowing smile, and cupped her cheek. “You care about Effie very much, don’t you?” Elise nodded, and Camilla’s smile widened. “I think you should tell Effie that.” And Elise knew she was right.

 

 

Effie wasn’t expecting to see Elise at the training grounds this early in the morning, especially not with such a determined look upon her face.

“Mornin’ Lady Elise.” Elise seemed to glare at her whenever she called her that. “What’re you doing here this early? Or at all?”

Elise seemed to harden her tiny frame before stating: “I want to spend more time with you.”

That took Effie aback. Sure she didn’t really spend much time with Elise anymore, but she needed to keep her feelings at bay. “Well, I know but I gotta keep-”

“Training.” Elise glowered. “I know you say you do, and I know you won’t listen when I say you don’t need to. So I’m gonna train with you!”

“Bwuh?” Effie wasn’t sure how to react to that. Even with her new combat class, Elise was purely a magic user. But it’s not like she could say ‘no’. “F-for how long?”

Elise grinned cheerily, but Effie could feel the ominous undertones emanating from the otherwise innocent smile. “As long as you do! All. Day. Long.”

Effie was growing increasingly concerned. “But, Lady Elise,” there was the glare again, “That’s way too much, you’ll get yourself hurt!”

“Well I guess you’ll know how I feel then!” Elise seemed angry for a second, but then settled into an expression that reminded Effie a little too much of Elise’s older sister. “Of course, if I were to be spending time with my best friend, she wouldn’t need to worry.”  
Effie groaned inwardly. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to spend time with Elise, her problem was the opposite, rather. She could break boulders now with ease, but she wasn’t sure she was strong enough to weather a day dealing with her poorly repressed feelings.

Not that it was going to change anything.

“All right, fine.” We train for two hours, and then we’ll go do some stuff.”

Elise beamed, and Effie was sure this would be the day she died.

 

 

Elise lay wide awake in her room in the dead of night. Her day with Effie had been amazing. They hadn’t had a day like that since before the incident at the castle. Effie had removed her armour for what seemed the first time in years. The two didn’t even need to leave the fort to have a wonderful time. They had traipsed around, played the lottery, visited some of their friends. They’d run, and goofed off like kids, and ended up sitting up on the wall, enjoying the beautiful trees in the Hoshidan-themed deeprealm.

After that was when Elise had encountered her trouble. After a while of looking out over the fort, she had glanced at Effie. It was like she was seeing the knight for the first time again, without her bulky armour, her tight bun undone, staring at Elise with this… expression Elise didn’t quite recognize before Effie had looked away, a rosy blush on her pale skin. All that together had… stirred up the something within her.

She recognized the feeling right away as the sense of jealousy and pain she felt when Effie was ignoring her, but rather than forming a pit in her stomach, it sang in her heart like nothing she had ever felt before. Effie had left in a rush after that, leaving Elise sitting alone on the rampart, her thoughts her only companion.

She had walked back to the barracks in something of a daze. Her thoughts were consumed by Effie. Her face wasn’t merely “cute” in her mind anymore. She’d never stopped to consider how gentle Effie’s eyes were, how soft her lips looked, how her hair framed her face as it tumbled about, warped by it’s time spent in the bun. She’d thought about how Effie’s muscles rippled at she ran along behind her, how - unlike herself - her childhood friend had become so… womanly, yet so strong, and Elise just wanted to know how safe she would feel wrapped in Effie’s powerful embrace, to know the give of Effie’s plush lips, to-

Elise cut herself off there. She knew she wanted to become more mature, but this wasn’t quite what she had in mind.

 

 

Effie was in shambles by the time she made it back to her room. That had been a mistake, going out like that. Elise was far too radiant, and Effie was in deep trouble. The day had been amazing, and so it was terrible how much it reminded Effie of when her feelings first began to bloom.

They had run from place to place, Elise dragging Effie around. It was nostalgic, watching the tiny noble’s long hair bob behind her, her slender form dash about, but she was hardly a child anymore, despite her small frame. Effie had had a great deal of trouble tearing her eyes away from the place where Elise’s back met her hip, how she moved and swayed a bit more like her older sister, how her a-

“GRAH!”

Effie yelled to break herself from her delusion, squeezing her legs together and lashing out at an innocent nightstand to better channel her pent up… aggression. She lay there, staring at the ceiling, wondering what she did to deserve the honor of being so close to Elise. And what she deserved to know that it wouldn’t ever be quite close enough.

A sharp pain in her hand brought her back to reality. Several splinters had embedded themselves in her fist, and, after examination, she realized that she had smashed the nightstand beyond reasonable repair.  
She smiled sadly to herself blood dripped down her forearm. This was not the sort of form that could give Elise comfort. She could protect her, yes, but were they ever to become close, she would surely damage her precious Elise’s lovely, fragile, frame. And if she did she’d never forgive herself.

 

Elise needed to clear her head. Every time she closed her eyes, her visions of Effie would get worse and worse, to the point where she felt she was violating her trusted friend with her foul imaginings.

She wandered around the fort, occasionally glancing up at the torches of the night watch, but nothing could distract her from the day she had had with Effie. Everywhere in the fort reminded her of the time they had. Climbing the beautiful trees, going into every shop even though they knew only swords and staves awaited them inside, sneaking out of the mess hall when they realized that Felicia was the chef, going to the first-aid tent…

No, wait, that last one didn’t happen.

Elise became aware of herself again just in time to see Effie quietly enter the tent, holding her hand. She followed quickly, wondering what could have happened.

Effie had managed to light a single lamp by the time Elise entered, and jumped when Elise gasped, having seen the blood trickle down Effie’s arm.

“Oh! Uh, Elise, what are you doing here?” Effie managed.

Elise dashed over the check her arm. “I, well… what happened?”

Effie looked away bashfully. “I broke a nightstand.”

Elise stared at her incredulously. “Why?”

Effie didn’t answer, but a rosy blush appeared on her cheeks, which just raised even more questions.

Elise sighed, unsure of what the blush was all about, but sat Effie down on one of the cots. “Here. I’ll get them out for you.” She kneeled in front of the knight, holding Effie’s injured hand in one of hers, expertly plucking the splinters of wood with the other. Effie held the lamp closer to help illuminate the situation, and Elise would occasionally glance up at her, but the knight would blush and look away every time.  
When the slivers were removed, Effie retrieved a heal staff, and closed the wounds.

“Th-thanks.” Effie stated.

Elise just smiled and nodded, still holding Effie’s hand, not sure what to say.

The fire from the lamp, now placed on the floor, danced about, and Elise lost herself in tracing the callouses and cracks in Effie’s hand. Her small fingers followed the lines, examining every inch of the worn hand in the peaceful silence of the sleeping fort. Only when the hand twitched, did Elise realise how long she’d been there, and wondered how Effie had tolerated this for so long.

Effie, to Elise’s dismay, looked very tense, her eyes locked onto the ground. Elise began to reach out and apologize. This was far too intimate a way to treat your friend, even one as close as she. When Elise’s hand landed on Effie’s arm, she seemed to relax, just there in that spot, while the rest of her remained coiled tight, and her eyes moved further from Elise’s form. Elise sat there for a moment, before trying this on other places as well, her fingers dancing across Effie’s body. Every muscle seemed to soften at her touch, as if on instinct, despite the increasing look of discomfort on Effie’s face, yet the knight never once pulled away, or asked her to stop. She looked more strained than Elise had ever seen her, but this time it wasn’t physical exertion. He entire face and ears glowed red, and she looked like she was doing everything in her power to hold something back. Elise’s heart pounded harder than it ever had before as she stared at the woman in front of her, and she suddenly realized why Effie had avoided her for this long. She knew what she needed to do.

 

 

Effie was in panic mode. Here they were, in the first-aid tent, Elise kneeling in front of her, fingers tracing damn near her entire body. She could feel her muscles relax a touch when Elise touched them, seemingly by instinct, and then tighten back up as the sensation of her fingers moved elsewhere. She glanced up at Elise’s face, and suddenly regretted it. Elise’s eyes were full of wonder and light, and were staring directly at her. Effie was sure that if she put her pink armour on right now, one couldn’t tell where it ended and her skin began.

She considered pulling away, but Orochi’s advice from the day before popped into her head. “If it’s good, let it happen.” Orochi had said, but this was a little too mu- OH GOD, had Orochi known this was going to happen the entire time?

Suddenly, Elise’s fingers grabbed hold of Effie’s chin, gently pulling her face around so that they were looking right at each other, and Effie became aware of how close their faces were. Elise’s eyes were half-lidded, and her lips were parted, and Effie was sure she was dreaming. The soft sensation of Elise’s lips against hers washed any doubt away in an instant, it was all so very real. Elise began to explore Effie’s lips with hers, her breath hot on Effie’s face as her plush lips discovered more and more of Effie. Elise stood, taller now than the seated Effie, and ran her hands through Effie’s hair, pressing their faces closer, and deepening the kiss. Effie sat there incredulously, arms hanging limp at her sides, and just kind of puckering her lips awkwardly, not sure what to do. She felt bad, as Elise was doing all the work, and, she was quickly becoming self conscious about how dry her lips must have been in comparison to Elise’s. She also realized that, while Elise had been taking small breaths throughout, she had not and was suddenly tragically low on air.

She broke away, but ended up falling backwards onto the cot. Elise managed to catch herself, her hands of Effie’s stomach now. The two gazed at each other for a moment. Elise wore an expression Effie had never seen before. Her face was red, and she was glistening with a hint of sweat, but it was the way her mouth hung open, and her chest rose and fell with her heavy breaths that make Effie clasp her legs together instinctively. Elise looked… sultry.

The expression lasted for only a moment, as Elise became bashful, looking off to the side, and coughing awkwardly. She also began absently running her thumbs across Effie’s abs, which, before now, Effie had never known were a sensitive spot for her. Determined to end this and figure out what was going on before things went any further, Effie sat up, pushing Elise went up with her.

Elise glanced around quickly. still blushing, before speaking. “Uhm, ah. H-how was that?”

Effie wasn’t sure how to react to that. “G-good.” She finally said. “Really, really, good. Great. Good great.” She stopped herself before she managed to sound stupider.

Surprisingly, Elise looked relieved. “Really?” She said hopefully. “I was worried I had-“

“No! No!” Effie reassured her. “It was really great! I-” She took a deep breath. “I love you.”

Elise lit up the dimly lit room with the brightest smile she had ever seen. “Me too! I- Sorry it took me so long to realize.”

Effie shook her head. “I didn’t even think it was possible, so I’m just happy you feel the same.” She fidgeted a little. “Uh, how was it on your end?”

Elise stifled an uncomfortable noise before stuttering. “I-I-I’m h-happy it was you!”

That didn’t feel good. “Aw, man. I’m sorry.”

Elise looked worried. “No, don’t worry! I’m really glad it happened! I love you a bunch, so even just kissing you was great, even if it was… Uh, don’t worry, you’ll get better with practice!”

An idea popped into Effie’s head, and she grinned a little. “Well, how about I set aside some of my day for… training?”

Elise stared at her for a moment, red faced, before bursting into laughter. “All right! I’ll hold you to that! You’d better take it as seriously as you do your normal training!”

“Of course I will,” Effie stated plainly, but with a smile. “It’s for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! The ending was pretty corny but I don't care it was adorable. Criticisms, constructive or otherwise, are always welcome, so if you've got something to say, please don't hesitate.


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